Exploring Boarding School Challenges for Women and Third Culture Kids

Through personal testimonies, this book offers insights into the boarding school experiences of women and third culture kids (TCKs), examining the particular challenges for those who are sent away from their families and all that is familiar to board in a country that feels worlds away from home. The stereotype of expatriate families is of glamorous lives lived in exotic locations with access to wealth and privilege. However, many of these families feel pressure to send their children ‘home’ to boarding school in their passport country without understanding the long-term implications of this choice. This book explores such long-term effects, starting with laying an accessible theoretical framework for the reader by drawing on scholarship from the fields of psychology, the study of TCKs, and the growing understanding of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The text then moves into the personal testimonies of 16 individuals, most of whom are TCKs or cross-cultural boarders, shedding light on the particular challenges they’ve faced. The book ends by offering hope and help with chapters providing insights and practical strategies for supporting those affected by boarding school. This user-friendly, accessible volume will appeal to professionals working with transcultural boarders, ex-boarders, or those who are considering sending their own children to boarding school.